Washington, 18 March 1997 (RFE/RL) - The United States said yesterday that it is premature for Serbia to sign an agreement on special parallel relations with the Bosnian Serbs before full diplomatic relations have been established between Belgrade and Sarajevo.

U.S. State department spokesman Nicholas Burns said that any decision by Belgrade to establish formal relations with the Bosnian Serbs must be ratified by the parliament in Bosnia Herzegovina.

Burns said the United States now expects Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to carry out a promise he made some time ago to establish full diplomatic relations with Sarajevo.